[February 14, 2008]

Contact: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Senior guard Candy Hall scored 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in leading Henderson State past Southern Arkansas, 74-57, Thursday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Lady Mulerider junior guard Shanaye Davis tried to keep SAU in it, posting a game-high 21 points and grabbing six rebounds. She was about the only offense that Southern Arkansas had going, as sophomore Goldie White was the only other player in double-figures, finishing with 12 points.

The Lady Reddies (13-9, 4-5 GSC) built a 43-34 halftime advantage behind 41 field goals attempted in the half. They connected on 15 for 36.6 percent. Comparatively, the Lady Muleriders had just 28 attempts during that span, hitting 10 for 35.7 percent.

SAU (4-17, 0-9 GSC) held a 12-11 edge on White’s jumper at 15:11 in the first frame, but Hall completed a 15-6 HSU run at 7:39 for a 26-18 margin. Southern Arkansas roared back though, pulling to within 31-29 at 2:56. But an 8-0 spree over the next 1:30 pushed Henderson State up 39-29 as they held on for the lead at the break.

It was basically over at the half as the Lady Muleriders could only keep it in single digits twice in the second, both nine-point deficits, and the last coming at 18:02, 47-38, on Davis’ jumper. The Lady Reddies used an 18-7 run from there to post their largest margin of the game at 11:07. A 65-51 difference was as close as SAU got from that point on.

HSU finished 29 of 74 from the floor for 39.2 percent, including 6 of 21 (28.6) from beyond the arc, and hit 10 of 17 (58.8) free throws. Southern Arkansas was 19 of 53 (35.8), just 2 of 16 (12.5) on treys, and 17 of 24 (70.8) from the charity stripe.

The Lady Reddies dominated on the boards, 50-37, including 20 offensive rebounds. They used that to outscore the Lady Muleriders inside, 44-16, and got 21 second-chance points.

A sloppy game, the two teams combined for 44 turnovers, SAU with 24, and HSU with 20 which they converted into 25 points, while Southern Arkansas got only 12.

Hall’s 19 points came on 7 of 17 shooting and she hit 5 of 10 free throws. Katie Williams added 13 points, Christina Hall had 12, Jazmine Ellis finished with 11, and Danyelle Harris chipped in 10.

Davis was 8 of 17 from the floor, including 1 of 2 three-point attempts, and 4 of 6 from the line. Shardae Thompson had nine rebounds to lead the Lady Muleriders.

SAU travels to Russellville Saturday to face 12th-ranked Arkansas Tech in a 6 p.m. tip-off.